A BALI-STYLE terror attack on Australian soil is inevitable, a senior member of a parliamentary security committee has warned.

LABOR MP Anthony Byrne, who is deputy chair of the joint intelligence and security committee, believes the threat to national security is accelerating.

"One of the grave concerns I have ... is that eventually and inevitably in this country an event will occur on this soil of the magnitude of the Bali event," he told parliament on Monday night.

Mr Byrne said he does not want to be part of parliament that reacts to an event.

"I want to be part of a parliament that puts the laws in place to prevent that event from taking place," he said.

Parliament should debate the merits of data retention legislation sooner rather than later.

"If a government is concerned and is making the right noises about being concerned about this nation's security, it must give its agencies all of the suite of powers that they need to deal with the terrorist threat," Mr Byrne said.

Crossbench senator David Leyonhjelm said he had deep concerns about data retention.

"Data retention works on the assumption that we're all criminals and have to be watched," the Liberal Democratic Party senator told reporters in Canberra.